Filter (Game Design)
According to our Bandology adviser, Jesse Schell, it’s the processing made by the player of noise (data) that is converted into a signal in a game.
For example, in Super Mario Bros., the player gets a mushroom (a power-up) that makes him bigger. It would have been stupidly complicated to say that when the player gets 20 points, Mario grows big. The player would have to process that he/she got 20 points that led mario to grow. That’s two filters: 1. Breaking bricks => 10 points score, 2. if score > 20 then mario grows.
But what if, instead, the player broke a brick and then picked up a Mushroom that makes Mario big? Then the player immediately knows and learns that mushroom = big mario. On the side, he/she got those 20 points anyway. That’s just one filter: 1. Picking up mushroom => mario grows.
Sometimes these situations as not as obvious, though, and one can get lost in designing to maximize and balance the internal system while at the same time completely confusing the player. The best way is to evaluate these problems, and find alternative ways to reward the same amount of points and power-ups. And always asking “What does the player want to do?”